Hollywood loves re-imagining nostalgic brands, and have made numerous Battleship, which are both critical and commercial flops.
Battleship stands out from the others because it failed so spectacularly, despite having a massive $200 million budget, a Rihanna.
How To Play Battleship
Hasbro’s Battleship is among the most-popular two-player board games because it’s easy to learn and can be played by everyone. The premise is simple. Each player sits facing the other with two grids in front of them representing the ocean.
They put their four battleships vertically or horizontally anywhere on one grid and use the other grid to guess the position of the enemy ships. Both players take turns guessing where the enemy ships are, and the first to sink all four of their opponent's ships wins the game.
How The Movie Went Wrong
Despite having a massive budget, the people behind Battleship made some silly mistakes that led to its failure.
Back in the 2010s, toy-maker Transformers franchise and wanted to capitalize on some of its other popular IPs. They didn’t realize that giant robots that transform into vehicles and fight each other is a much more interesting premise than trying to find battleships in a specific area of the ocean.
Battleship the movie tried to combine blockbuster sci-fi action with game elements, like using a grid to track enemy ships, and it just didn’t work. Aliens attack earth, and the only way for the heroes to take them down is by guessing their location based on the movement of buoys in the ocean. The idea fell flat and made the movie look like watching someone else playing a game.
Battleship looks and feels like a cheap Transformers rip-off because that’s exactly what it is. It has the same premise of robot aliens attacking earth, similar CGI robots, and the same over-the-top explosions, quick cuts, and lens-flares. They even tried to capitalize on Transformers by getting its composer to create a similar score.
Ultimately, Battleship gave viewers more of what they’d already seen in superior films instead of anything new and original, and nobody was interested.
Questionable Casting
It might be wise to have good actors if you’re making a $200 million movie. Not according to the makers of this dud. They cast Rihanna in her debut acting role to try and cash in on her music’s popularity, and it’s safe to say things didn’t work out as planned. Her role earned her a Golden Raspberry for her efforts. Often called a 'Razzie,' the awards are given to the worst movies and performers.
Instead of getting a bankable star for the leading role, they chose Taylor Kitsch. His record was already dismal after the smaller roles.
Game Over Movie
If you’ve got a couple of hours to kill, playing the Battleship game with a friend is way more enjoyable than watching Battleship the movie. The game is exciting, teaches strategy, and is ideal for all ages, while the movie is an instantly-forgettable B-grade box-office bomb.